Polishing pads



H. G. HENCKEN POLISHING PADS April 5, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 30, 1963 FIG.

FIG

FIG.2

FIG.7

INVENTOR. f/anoza bEuC/(E/V FIG.4

ATTORNEYS.

April 5, 1966 H. G. HENCKEN 3,243,833

POLISHING PADS Filed Sept. 30, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIGJZ FIG.I3

INVE TOR fl/mup G. IIVC'AEA/ ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,243,833 POLISHING PADS Harold G. Heineken, Greenwich, Conn, assignor to American Felt Company, Glenville, Conn, a corpora tion of Massachusetts Filed Sept. 30, 1963, Ser. No. 312,592 11 Claims. (til. -23012) The present invention relates to the art of polishing plate glass, and particularly to a new and improved combined felt pad and attaching means for use with polishing heads of glass polishing machines.

It is presently customary to employ square shaped felt pads having a size such that an inscribed circle of the square equals the diameter of the round polishing head of a glass polishing machine. The exposed corners of the square felt pad are bent upwardly about the peripheral edge of the head, and a metal band is clamped about these bent-up edges, thereby securely holding the felt pad to the polishing head. Such felt pads also have been secured to the polishing head by a cementing process employing hot pitch or other similar adhesives.

The bent-up corners of prior known polishing pads provide a point of Weakness, and the pads Often tear at such corners, rendering them useless long before the normal life of the felt has been consumed. Furthermore, such square pads require a high percentage of unusable felt in the bent-up corner portions.

Cementing felt pads directly to the iron polishing head is unsatisfactory because the down time of a polishing machine to effect replacement of such a pad is excessive. It involves the removal of an adhering pad from a polishing head, the cleaning of the head, the applying of fresh adhesive to the head, and the application of a new felt which requires a predetermined curing time before the polishing machine can be restarted. When it is considered that there are many polishing heads in one machine and that felt replacement usually is necessary to less than the total number of heads at a time, it becomes apparent that rapid replacement of felts is an essential requirement.

An important object of this invention is to provide a combined felt pad and attaching means for the heads of glass polishing machines which can be replaced with a minimum of down time of the polishing machine.

Another object of this invention is to provide such a felt and attaching means which will substantially reduce labor costs in replacing the same.

Still another object of this invention is to provide such a felt and attaching means in which a minimum of felt is required for maximum polishing action.

Another object of the invention is to provide such a felt and attaching means which may be disposable.

In one aspect of the invention, a glass polishing head may comprise a relatively thin metal member of circular or other form to which a driving spindle may be rigidly attached. The thin disk may be provided with radially arranged slots therein.

In another aspect of the invention, a relatively thick felt polishing pad having a peripheral dimension substantially equal to that of the head may be removably attached to the polishing head. The felt pad may be in the order of about one inch thick. Strips of fabricreinforced rubber may be vulcanized to the one surface of the felt pad in such a manner that radially arranged, open loops of the fabric-'reinformed rubber strips are formed on the surface of the felt pad to which the strips are vulcanized. These loops may extend substantially vertically above the surface of the felt pad to which the strips are vulcanized.

In still another aspect of the invention, the open loops may be inserted through the slots of the thin polishing 3,243,833 Patented Apr. 5, 1966 head, and pin means may be inserted through the open loops on the side of the thin polishing head opposite that contacting the felt pad, and from the radial inward end outwardly, so that the head of the pin when turned cooperates with the spindle attached to the head to prevent the pin from disengaging itself from the loop.

In a still further aspect of the invention, the felt pad may be removably attached to a relatively thick metal polishing head. The thick head may have radial holes drilled into its peripheral edge for a distance greater than the inner point of the raised open loops of fabric-reinforced rubber strips vulcanized to the one face of the felt polishing pad. Slots may be formed in the bottom face of the thick polishing head in radial alignment with the drilled holes, and these slots may open into said holes along a radial line of the thick head.

In still another aspect of the invention, the loops of fabric-reinforced rubber may be inserted through said slots so that their free ends extend into the drilled radial holes. Key means, which may take any one of many forms, may be inserted through the tops of the open loops within the drilled holes, and means on the head may releasably hold the pin in locked position.

The above, other objects and novel features of the invention will become apparent from the following specifieation and accompanying drawing which is merely exemplary.

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a glass polishing head to which certain of the principles of the invention have been applied;

FIG. 2. is a perspective view of a felt pad to which the principles of the invention have been applied;

FIG. 3 is a partial radial, section-a1, elevational view of an assembled polishing pad and head to which the principles of the invention have been applied;

FIG. 4 is a section taken substantially along line 4 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of another form of polishing head to which the principles of the invention have been applied;

FIG. 6 is a radial, sectional, elevational view of the assembly of the head of FIG. 5, and a felt pad;

FIG. 7 is an end view of the disclosure of FIG. 6;

FIGS. 8 and 9 are fragmentary sectional, elevational and plan views, respectively, of a modified form of the lock pin arrangement;

FIGS. 10, 11 and 12 are views of still another modified form of the invention;

FIG. 12A is a fragmentary showing of the assembled elements of FIGS. 10 to 12;

FIG. 13 is a fragmentary elevational view of still another modified form of the locking pin arrangement; and

FIG. 14 is still another modified form of the invention.

Referring to the drawings, and particularly to FIGS. 1 to 4, the principles of the invention are shown as applied to a polishing head 10 including a relatively thin disk 11, which in the embodiment disclosed is shown as circular. The disk 11 may be fixed to a spindle 12, and the disk may include radial slots 13 extending therethrough.

Referring to FIG. 2, a disk 14 made from felt having a thickness in the order of about one inch may be of a diameter substantially the same as that of disk 11. Strips 15 of fabric-reinforced rubber having a rupture strength substantially greater than that of the felt of disk 14 may be vulcanized to the top surface of the disk 14 in such fashion that radially arranged open loops 16 are formed in the strips 15. The width of the strips 15 and consequently the length of the radial loops are such that they can pass with facility through the slots 13 in disk 11.

Referring to FIG. 3, pins 17 may be threaded through each open loop 16 after it has been inserted through the slot '13. The pins 17 may have T-heads 18 (FIG. 4) which, when in a horizontal position, cooperate with the spindle 12 to prevent their accidental removal from the loop 16.

Referring to H63. to 7, the principles of the invention are shown as applied to a modified form of the invention including a plate glass polishing head 19 having a disk 20 of a thickness much greater than that of disk I 11. A spindle'Zl may be fixed to disk 20 in the same way that spindle 12 is connected to disk 11. Radial holes 22 may be drilled into the peripheral edge 23 of the disk 20 to a depth greater than the distance from the outer peripheral edge of the felt disk 14 to the inner edges of the strips 15. Slots 24 may be milled or otherwise cut into the face of disk 24) opposite that to which spindle 21 is fixed. The slots 24 may be formed along lines coincident with holes 22 so that they open into said slots.

Referring to FIG. 6, the felt pad 14 is applied to the thick disk 20 by feeding the loops 16 upwardly through the slots 24 into the drilled holes 22. An L-shaped locking pin 25 may have its long leg 26 threaded through the open loop 16 that is within drilled hole 22. The short leg 27 of pin'ZS may be releasably held in a locked position by a spring clip means 28 that may be mounted on the peripheral edge 23 of the disk 20 by a screw 29.

Referring to FIGS. 8 and 9, a sectional, elevational portion of a polishing head 30 is disclosed. It may include two disks 31 and 32 that are rigidly held together during a drilling operation for providing radial holes 33 that extend from the peripheral edge 34 inwardly to a distance greater than the length of the loops 16 of fabric-reinforced strips 15. The disk 31 may include a recessed portion 35 that mates with a portion 36 of a weight 37 for imparting a selected mass to the head 34). The weight 37 may be provided with radial slots 38 that are in radial planes including drilled holes 33. Radial slots 39 may also be provided in disk 32 in the same planes including holes 33, and U-shaped clips 40 may be provided for securing pads 14 to the head 30. The clips 43 may include one leg 41 for threading through a loop 16 that is inserted through slot 39 and extends into hole 33, and another leg 42 that extends radially into slot 38 and includes an end portion 43 that is bent toward leg 41 for engaging a shoulder 44 formed by the recessed portion 35. An arcuate recess 45 is provided at the periphery of disk 31 at the outer end of each hole 33 so that a pinching tool may be employed to remove the U-shaped clip 40.

Referring to FIGS. 10 to 12 and 12a, the locking pin arrangement is shown as comprising a drilled radial hole 46 and radial slot 47 opening thereinto. The top surface of a head 48 may be provided with a recess 49 adapted to receive a bolt construction 50 on a pin 51. By inserting pin 51 into hole 46 with bolt 5f) within the radial plane including hole 46 until it is radially aligned with recess 49, the bolt 50 and pin 51 may then be turned so that bolt Si) is received within recess 49 such that it is substantially flush with the top surface of head 48.

Referring to FIG. 13, another form of locking pin arrangement is shown. The polishing head may be like head 20 (FIG. 5) and a locking pin 52 may be U-shaped with a short leg 53 having an end 54 that is contoured to pass over a protuberance 55 on the top surface of the head 20. The pin also could fit into a recess (not shown) so as not to extend beyond the periphery of disc 20.

Referring to FIG. 14, the principles of the invention are shown as applied to a modification wherein a polishing pad 56 may include a thin disk 57 of rigid material such as Masonite or the like having radial slots 53 therein, said disc serving to keep the individual segments is assembled relation. Segmental felt elements 59 may have vulcanized to their top surfaces fabric-reinforced, truncated, segmental portions 60 forming loops 61 that may extend upwardly through slots 58. The loops 61 are adapted to receive any of the locking pin arrangements shown for 4 fastening the assembly of FIG. 14 to a head of a glass polishing machine.

The insertion of the pin, such as seen in FIG. 4, into the loop also provides a camming or wedging action on the loop to assist in holding the parts together.

Although the various features of the polishing head for glass polishing machines have been shown and described in detail to fully disclose several embodiments of the invention, it will be evident that changes may be made in such details and certain features may be used without others without departing from the principles of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A polishing head for glass polishing machines comprising in combination, a metal polishing head including a disk having a spindle attached to one face thereof; radially arranged walls defining slots in said disk; 21 polishing pad adapted removably to be attached to the other face of said head comprising a felt pad having a diameter substantially equal to that of said head; strips of fabricreinforced rubber vulcanized to the side of said felt pad adjacent said head, said strips being arranged to form radially disposed loop means adapted to be received by said radially arranged slots in said head; and pin means adapted to be inserted within said loop means to prevent their withdrawal from said slots.

2. A polishing head for glass polishing machines comprising in combination, a polishing head including a relatively thin disk having a spindle connected to one face thereof; radially arranged walls defining slots extending through said disk; at polishing pad adapted removably to be attached to the other face of said head comprising a felt pad having a diameter substantially equal to that of said head; strips of fabric-reinforced rubber vulcanized to the side of said felt pad adjacent said head, said strips being arranged to form radially disposed loop means adapted to be received by said radially arranged slots in said head; and pin means adapted to be inserted within said loop means to prevent their withdrawal from said slots.

3. A polishing head for glass polishing machines comprising in combination, a polishing head including a relatively thin disk having a spindle connected to one face thereof; radially arranged walls defining slots extending through said disk; a polishing pad adapted removably to be attached to the other face of said head comprising a felt pad having a diameter substantially equal to that of said head; strips of fabric-reinforced rubber vulcanized to the side of said felt pad adjacent said head, said strips being arranged to form radially disposed loop means adapted to be received by said radially arranged slots in said head; and pin means adapted to be inserted within said loop means to prevent their withdrawal from said slots, said pin means having a T-shaped head adapted to cooperate with said spindle to prevent their accidental withdrawal from said loop means.

4. A polishing head for glass polishing machines comprising in combination, a polishing head including a relatively thick disk having a spindle connected to one face thereof; walls defining radial holes extending from the periphery of said disk toward the center thereof; walls defining radial slots coincident with said holes and extending from the face of said disk opposite that to which said spindle is connected and opening into said holes; a polishing pad adapted removably to be attached to the other face of said head comprising a felt pad having a diameter substantially equal to that of said head; strips of fabricreinforced rubber vulcanized to the side of said felt pad adjacent said head, said strips being arranged to form radially disposed loop means adapted to be received by said radially arranged slots in said head and to extend into said radial holes; and pin means adapted to be inserted within said holes and through said loops to prevent their withdrawal from said slots.

5. A polishing head for glass polishing machines comprising in combination, a polishing head including a relatively thick disk having a spindle connected to one face thereof; walls defining radial holes extending from the periphery of said disk toward the center thereof; walls defining radial slots coincident with said holes and extending from the face of said disk opposite that to which said spindle is connected and opening into said holes; a polishing pad adapted removably to be attached to the other face of said head comprising a felt pad having a diameter substantially equal to that of said head; strips of fabric-reinforced rubber vulcanized to the side of said felt pad adjacent said head, said strips being arranged to form radially disposed loop means adapted to be received by said radially arranged slots in said head and to extend into said radial holes; pin means adapted to be inserted within said holes and through said loops to prevent their withdrawal from said slots; and means on said disk for locking said pin means in effective position.

6. A polishing head for glass polishing machines comprising in combination, a polishing head including a relatively thick disk having a spindle connected to one face thereof; Walls defining radial holes extending from the periphery of said disk toward the center thereof; walls defining radial slots coincident with said holes and extending from the face of said disk opposite that to which said spindle is connected and opening into said holes; a polishing pad adapted removably to be attached to the other face of said head comprising a felt pad having a diameter substantially equal to that of said head; strips of fabric-reinforced rubber vulcanized to the side of said felt pad adjacent said head, said strips being arranged to form radially disposed loop means adapted to be received by said radially arranged slots in said head and to extend into said radial holes; pin means adapted to be inserted within said holes and through said loops to prevent their withdrawal from said slots; and means on the periphery of said disk for locking said pin means in effective position.

7. A polishing head for glass polishing machines comprising in combination, a polishing head including a relatively thick disk having a spindle connected to one face thereof; walls defining radial holes extending from the periphery of said disk toward the center thereof; walls defining radial slots coincident with said holes and extending from the face of said disk opposite that to which said spindle is connected and opening into said holes; a polishing pad adapted removably to be attached to the other face of said head comprising a felt pad having a diameter substantially equal to that of said head; strips of fabricreinforced rubber vulcanized to the side of said felt pad adjacent said head, said strips being arranged to form radially disposed loop means adapted to be received by said radially arranged slots in said head and to extend into said radial holes; pin means adapted to be inserted within said holes and through said loops to prevent their withdrawal from said slots; and means on the surface of said head opposite that in contact with said pad for locking said pin means in elfective position.

8. A polishing head for glass polishing machines comprising in combination, a polishing head including a relatively thick disk having a spindle connected to one face thereof; walls defining radial holes extending from the periphery of said disk toward the center thereof; walls defining radial slots coincident with said holes and extending from the face of said disk opposite that to which said spindle is connected and opening into said holes; a polishing pad adapted removably to be attached to the other face of said head comprising a felt pad having a diameter substantially equal to that of said head; strips of fabricreinforced rubber vulcanized to the side of said felt pad adjacent said head, said strips being arranged to form radially disposed loop means adapted to be received by said radially arranged slots in said head and to extend into said radial holes; U-shaped clip means having one leg adapted to be inserted within said radial holes and through said loops, and another leg adapted to extend over the top surface of said head; and means on the top surface of said head adapted to engage the free end portion of said other leg for locking said U-shaped clip means to said head.

9. A polishing head for glass polishing machines comprising in combination, a polishing head including a relatively thick disk having a spindle connected to one face thereof; walls defining radial holes extending from the periphery of said disk toward the center thereof; walls defining radial slots coincident with said holes and extending from the face of said disk opposite that to which said spindle is connected and opening into said holes; a polishing pad adapted removably to be attached to the other face of said head comprising a felt pad having a diameter substantially equal to that of said head; strips of fabric-reinforced rubber vulcanized to the side of said felt pad adjacent said head, said strips being arranged to form radially disposed loop means adapted to be received by said radially arranged slots in said head and to extend into said radial holes; walls defining a contoured recess on the top surface of said head extending at right angles from, and communicating with, said radial holes; and pin means having a bolt portion conforming to said contoured recess adapted to be inserted within said holes, through said loops, and turned axially so that said bolt portion fits into said contoured recess.

11). A pad for the polishing heads of glass polishing machines, comprising a thin disk having radially arranged slots extending therethrough; segmentally shaped felt elements; strips of fabric fixed to said segmental elements forming loop means adapted to extend through the radial slots in said thin disk; and removable locking pin means adapted to be inserted through said loop means for removably connecting said thin disk and felt elements to a polishing head.

11. A pad for the polishing heads of glass polishing machines, comprising a thin non-metallic disk having radially arranged slots extending therethrough; segmentally shaped felt elements; strips of fabric-reinforced rubber fixed to said segmental elements forming loop means adapted to extend through the radial slots in said thin disk; and removable locking pin means adapted to be inserted through said loop means for removably connecting said thin disk and felt elements to a polishing head.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS DANIEL BLUM, Primary Examiner. 

1. A POLISHING HEAD FOR GLASS POLISHING MACHINES COMPRISING IN COMBINATION, A METAL POLISHING HEAD INCLUDING A DISK HAVING A SPINDLE ATTACHED TO ONE FACE THEREOF; RADIALLY ARRANGED WALLS DEFINING SLOTS IN SAID DISK; A POLISHING PAD ADAPTED REMOVABLY TO BE ATTACHED TO THE OTHER FACE OF SAID HEAD COMPRISING A FELT PAD HAVING A DIAMETER SUBSTANTIALLY EQUAL TO THAT OF SAID HEAD; STRIPS OF FABRICREINFORCED RUBBER VULCANIZED TO THE SIDE OF SAID FELT PAD ADJACENT SAID HEAD, SAID STRIPS BEING ARRANGED TO FORM RADIALLY DISPOSED LOOP MEANS ADAPTED TO BE RECEIVED BY SAID RADIALLY ARRANGED SLOTS IN SAID HEAD; AND PIN MEANS ADAPTED TO INSERTED WITHIN SAID LOOP MEANS TO PREVENT THEIR WITHDRAWL FROM SAID SLOTS. 